A contemplation of all things church... and a desire for an increasingly pure church reformed by the word of God.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Mohler on the 'Prosperity Gospel'

The NY Times published a couple days ago a story called "Believers Invest in the Gospel of Getting Rich." (Now doesn't that just about sum up everything you don't want teach to a perishing world?) The article covers the Copeland's recent meeting of 9,000 strong, gathered to learn from and participate in the heretical ministry of the Copelands.

Prosperity theology is a False Gospel. Its message is unbiblical and its promises fail. God never assures his people of material abundance or physical health. Instead, Christians are promised the riches of Christ, the gift of eternal life, and the assurance of glory in the eternal presence of the living God.

In the end, the biggest problem with prosperity theology is not that it promises too much, but that it promises far too little. The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers salvation from sin, not a platform for earthly prosperity. While we should seek to understand what drives so many into this movement, we must never for a moment fail to see its message for what it is -- a false and failed gospel.

4 comments:

It never ceases to amaze me how someone can twist the Word of God ever so slightly to make it a damaging lie instead of a path to life.

I believe God desires good things for His children - however - it isn't about the things it is about Him. He comes first in our hearts and when He is our God then He works all for our good - and sometimes that means going through tough times to learn His truth, wisdom and love. And sometimes that means experiencing His tremenous blessing despite ourselves. The focus is to be on Him alone.

2 Corinthians 2:17 "For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ." (ESV)

The term 'peddlers' in the text refers to those who willfully corrupt the meaning of God's Word for personal gain.

Matthew 15:14 "Let them alone; they are blind guides."

The heartbreak is that these blind guides are never alone, but take with them their host of victims equally blinded by this corruption of lies, whose ultimate end, if God does not intervene, will be as desperate as their 'guides', "And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."

Therefore we must,

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." Matthew 7:15

"And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ (what I say is the true word of God) and they will lead many astray." Matthew 24:4-5

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits (against the teachings of the Bible) to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1

About Me

I love the Lord because He first loved me. I love His people because He has given me a new heart. I have received God's favor in the form of my wife, Kristie. And together we know His blessing through three children. I was once a Muslim, and by God's grace I have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ. By God's unfathomable grace I am a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in which I hope to serve Him until He returns or calls me home!